Free Minds

Chapter 118.

   Nothi–

   Wait.

"We need to get him out of here," I stood up, after telling Rav what I'd just felt. My right fingers that felt the slow, subtle throbs in Dorian's left wrist were on fire. But, like every other part of my body, it burned with hope. "He'll be fine once we get him out of here. Dorian needs a hospital... Rav? Rav!"

   Rav kept shaking his head in disbelief at my statement, more tears escaping him as he used his free hand to pull at the loose strands of hair that fell over his forehead while the other stroked Dorian's head.

   It broke my heart to see him like this. But how could we save Dorian if he didn't pull himself together? So, pushing aside my emotions, I bent down again and made sure to look him dead in the eye.

   Then I slapped Rav. Hard.

   Whatever emotionally oppressive spell he was under broke that instant.

   For the first time in while Rav looked at me with stable eyes. Which was why I was so taken aback when he said, "We need my parents."

"Your parents." I parroted.

"Why them?" Camila saved me the trouble of asking.

   Rav said, "I know the hospital seems like the obvious place to go first–"

"Seems–seems like?!" I sputtered. "Dorian may not be dead yet, but he's definitely going to be if we don't take him to a hospital!"

   I should've slapped him harder.

   Rav shook his head, exasperated. "My parents have been taking care of Dorian for years. They have the technology and the people that can figure out what's wrong with him and help him. Dorian's not going to get what he needs at a normal hospital. We'll be killing him by sending him there. Trust me on this, Beth. My parents are the only ones that can save him."

   A low sigh parted my lips. That actually made a lot of sense.

   But what didn't was how we were going to contact them. All our devices were taken away when we were first captured. And even if we were able to do so, how on earth were they going to find us? How were we going to find them even after we got the chance to speak to them? How long was either going to take? These underground tunnels were a thousand times worse than a maze.

"Rav," I heard Camila call him. "What are their numbers?"

   Him and I turned to look at her.

   Her cheeks turned pink. "Speck doesn't go anywhere without at least one of his devices. He's wearing his smart watch right now."

   Our stare moved in unison towards Speck's unresponsive body. Camila was telling the truth.

   Rav was at Speck's side in an instant, not giving off any indications of fear as he roughly removed the watch from Speck's wrist.

   He frowned at the watch's screen flashing in his face. "There's no service."

"We risk running into Yunies trying to go to the places around here which have service." Camila said. "I know a shortcut that can lead us to the school grounds in no time. We shouldn't run into the Yunies since they're all supposed to be down here. We'll take my gun just in case."

   With Camila leading the way, both of them dashed upstairs to the door that we came through, while I was made to stay with Dorian.

   His skin had become so cold that brushing the hair off his forehead made me shiver all over. That didn't deter my touch in any way though. Neither did the fact that the crescents under his eyes turned darker while every other part of his face and body had the paleness comparable to a corpse. I kept my fingers on his left wrist, letting the beats it was radiating soothe the frantic ones of my heart.

"You'll be okay," I whispered over and over, knowing this assurance was more to myself than him.

   Rav and Camila's absence was starting to take forever, but rather than let thoughts of them being attacked and captured by Yunies consume me, every pleasant memory of Dorian and me played in my mind like a slideshow; our first real conversation at the dance, when recreated the drone together in my house (my first fall and our fall and how we laughed like lunatics after), him consoling me after Tali and I's fight, him helping me get over my panic attack on the roof, our almost-kiss when I slept in his room the first time, when he consoled me and cleaned my cut after Talise was taken, our first kiss, our date, our last kiss before he put on the Neuroskel...

   Moments I knew I'd never forget for as long as I lived.

   I didn't notice my eyes were closed until the sound of the door burst open, causing them to flicker open.

   Rav and Camila walking through didn't faze me.

   Until I saw they weren't alone.

   The series of events that followed were condensed into one giant, fast-paced blur.

   One minute, I was sitting beside Dorian, the next he was being led away in a stretcher by about two people who were not dressed like hospital workers, but had all the gear and demeanour to prove otherwise.

   I couldn't pinpoint exactly when Rav and Camila began guiding me through the tunnel until my face was hit with the late night air of the outdoors.

   The patch of land that led to the tunnels was the parking spot of a large van into which Dorian was placed.

   I barely remember saying anything aside from my name to Mr. and Mrs. Hooda while shaking their hands after Rav introduced us. Rav and his parents subsequently boarded the van whereas Camila and I were directed to self-driving cars programmed to take us to our respective homes.

   As our cars drove down Zavlon's driveway, a fleet of police vehicles on the other side of the driveway zoomed past in the opposite direction, toward the gates of Zavlon we'd just come through.

   In less than an hour, I was in Ridgeton.

   In less than three minutes, for the first time in weeks, I was at the doorstep of my home.

   Once my mother responded to my knock, it took me less than a second to throw myself into her arms and reduce everything that happened–from Liberation Week to now– to sobs that could probably be heard all the way down to the last home on my street.

A/N:  😭 Who else feels as emotional as Beth?

Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to vote and comment ❤!

Follow me on instagram: @zwrites._

@WattpadExplorer @WattpadOutreach @Wattpad @adventure @TeenFiction